In brief: UW's athletic teams help generate $970 million each year for the state's economy.

You can find the full report, which studied the 2010-'11 academic year, here.

Also Friday:

* Beginning in 2011, football players who fail to pass a minimum of nine credits in the fall semester will be declared ineligible for the first four games of the next season.

That rule was approved Friday by the NCAA.

If a player goes on to pass a total of 27 credits during the academic year, including summer courses, he can have the suspension reduced to two games.

According to UW athletic director Barry Alvarez, the Big Ten lobbied against the rule.

"Why separate football eligibility rules from everyone else?" Alvarez said when asked why the Big Ten did not support the change. "It is a sharp penalty and I think people will be more worried about being eligible instead of taking...maybe going into a curriculum they want to study, especially early on."

* UW fans hoping to see the Big Ten Conference football teams play nine league games instead of eight will have to wait until at least 2017.

Big Ten officials recently released the league schedules for 2013 and '14, with all 12 teams playing eight league games.

There had been discussion of possibly playing nine league games, beginning in 2015. However, Alvarez said Friday such a move likely won't happen until at least the 2017 season.

* UW is losing a second administrator to Miami. Steve Waterfield, who runs UW's compliance department, is taking over as Miami's deputy athletic director.

Alvarez revealed that move Friday during an athletic board meeting.

Waterfield joined UW's staff in 2004.

Shawn Eichorst recently left his job as UW's deputy athletic director to take over as Miami's athletic director.

Senior associate athletic director Sean Frazier has been promoted to fill Eichorst's position. That move was part of a restructuring announced by Alvarez.

* The contracts of four coaches were extended by the athletic board.

They are: Mike Eaves, men's hockey, five years through June 30, 2016; Bo Ryan, men's basketball, five years through May 31, 2016; Mark Johnson, women's hockey, four years through June 30, 2015; and Barry Davis, wrestling, three years through May 31, 2014.

Johnson recently interviewed for the post of men's hockey coach at Penn State, which is to begin competing in men's and women's hockey in 2012-'13. According to Alvarez, Johnson turned down the offer to remain at UW, where he has won four NCAA titles.